Lauri Markkanen is still on the open market and he’s garnering interest from the Pelicans and Hornets, longtime NBA journalist Marc Stein hears.
New Orleans has a trade exception worth $17 million from the Steven Adams/Eric Bledsoe deal and could utilize that to acquire Markkanen. The franchise could also fold a potential deal for Markkanen into the Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade, which has yet to be finalized.
The Hornets don’t have the cap space to ink the power forward outright and a sign-and-trade is likely their only path to adding Markkanen.
Stein adds that Chicago is looking for a future first-round pick to facilitate a deal.
